ASBURY PARK – Thousands of people made their way to the annual three-day Oysterfest held in the city at the end of summer.

Mike Hollemans, director of logistics for Passion Group, which produces the festival, estimated approximately 15,000 to 20,000 attendees over the course of the event.

“We’ve been in four locations in five years … this is by far the best location,” Hollemans said. “We want to thank Eyestar because it’s their property.”

Hollemans said his company start planning the following years event as soon as the festival wraps up, and each year they make changes. Two significant changes this year included making the festival more pet friendly and adding cooking demonstrations.

“Asbury Park is just a pet-friendly community,” Hollemans said.

One celebrity food demonstration included Food Network’s Extreme Chef champion Terry French and Flock of Seagulls band member Eddie Burner.

“It’s a great way to end the summer season,” Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Jacqueline Pappas said. “Every year it gets better and better.”

Pappas said a portion of the proceeds from entry fee is donated to the Boys and Girls Club and other portion is a fundraiser for the chamber, which is then in turn used for marketing Asbury Park. Each year a different charity is selected to receive a portion of the proceeds, she said.

“This by far has been my favorite year,” Pappas said. “It was so nice to see all kinds of different faces here from every corner of our community and by far the best and most diverse this year.”

Wall Township friends Corey Sherlock and Katie Gorga said the lobster mac and cheese from Harvest Specialty Catering was their favorite dish at Oysterfest this year.

“We just love festivals,” Gorga said.

New Brunswick-based Harvest Specialty Catering owner Jason Dychus said he has brought his food to Oysterfest for several years and the lobster mac and cheese is their most popular item, especially after they changed the mix of cheese used in it.

“It’s made from scratch,” Dychus said. “We’ve had a homerun this year. We changed the recipe and since we’ve changed it for this season we’ve sold out every weekend that we’ve had it [at a festival.]”